Rivers woman arrested for killing co-tenant with stone during fighting

A woman has been arrested by the Rivers State Police Command for allegedly killing her neighbour simply identified as Augustine by hitting him on the head with a stone during a quarrel in the Railway area of Elekahia in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday.

Our correspondent gathered on Thursday that Augustine who worked in the Trans-Amadi area of the metropolis was resting in front of his apartment after returning from work when his female neighbour confronted him and asked if he was the one who defecated behind the compound.

Peeved by the question, the man asked how someone of his age would do such a thing when there were many children in the compound, during which a heated argument ensued between them.

One of their neighbours, identified as Onyedikachi, while narrating to PUNCH Metro on Thursday what transpired, said the woman picked up a stone and hit Augustine on the head leading to his death.

He stated, “The woman went behind the house and saw faeces. She asked the man who sat in front of his house if he was the one and they started quarrelling. The man said he had just returned from work and that how could an elderly man like him do such a thing.”

The man was over 60 years old.

“He asked the lady how she could accuse an elderly man like him when there were children all around the compound. That was how the quarrel started.”

The eyewitness added, “The woman parked sand from the ground and poured on the man. The man got up from where he sat, and they started fighting.

“She (the woman) picked a stone and hit the man. As I’m talking to you now, we are at the Elekahia Police Station. Many people are here. The man is dead. His body is lying inside the car.”

He further said they took the man to two different hospitals but that they refused to attend to them until a third hospital where the man was confirmed dead.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident, saying the woman had been arrested.

Iringe-Koko further said though the woman denied hitting the man with any object, an investigation was ongoing.

She stated, “Yes, I can confirm the incident. The woman has been arrested and the matter has been transferred to the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department.

“The woman said during interrogation that the man hit her on the nose and that his children were fighting her, during which they were throwing stones at her. While she tried to dodge, the stone now hit the man.

“Like I said, she is in our custody and the investigation is ongoing. She will be charged in court at the end of our investigation. At the end of the day, she may be charged to court.”